Ignition lock for a motor vehicle

ABSTRACT

An ignition lock is provided for a driving authorization system in a motor vehicle that interacts for authentication purposes with an electronic key or the like via an encoded operating signal. The ignition lock contains a moving element that can move from a starting position into at least one actuating position of a switching element. The moving element has a switching effect on the switching element in the actuating position. The ignition lock includes a lever that can be inserted into the moving element for manually moving the moving element. A locking feature interacts with the lever in the inserted state so that the removal of the lever from the moving element is blocked. The lever contains an actuating element for the release of the locking feature so that upon actuation of the actuating element the lever can be removed from the moving element.

[0001] The invention relates to an ignition lock pursuant to thepreamble of patent claim 1.

[0002] In motor vehicles, an ignition lock is installed for protectionfrom unauthorized usage. The ignition lock and appropriate controldevices are components of the ignition lock and/or driving authorizationsystem in the motor vehicle.

[0003] An ignition lock system acting together with an electronic key ina motor vehicle is known from DE 44 34 587 A1. The ignition lock of theignition lock system includes a switching element as well as a rotor.Upon successful authentication of the key, which occurs via an encodedoperating signal between the key located in the ignition lock and theignition lock, the rotor can be moved from a starting position with theelectronic key, which is used as a lever, into at least one actuatingposition. In the actuating position, the rotor has a switching effect onthe switching element, whereby specific functions of the motor vehicleare effected, such as, for example, switching on the ignition and thelike.

[0004] Such ignition lock systems have also been further developed witha so-called “keyless go” functionality, in which it is sufficient thatthe user carries the key, an identification (ID) sensor, a chip card, asmart card or the like with him. The authentication of the key or thelike is then conducted automatically when the user is in the motorvehicle. For the actual starting process, the user moves for example therotor manually via a lever that is incorporated on the rotor.

[0005] In case of a possible failure of the keyless go functionality, itis feasible to provide a kind of emergency actuation via an emergencykey that can be inserted into the ignition lock. The emergency actuationis made more difficult with the lever that is incorporated on theignition lock.

[0006] The lever, which is arranged on the ignition lock, can also makeits actuation less comfortable for the user.

[0007] It is an object of the invention to further develop the ignitionlock so that its actuation, in particular in the event of failure of thekeyless go functionality, offers more comfort.

[0008] This object is attained with a generic ignition lock with thecharacterizing features of claim 1.

[0009] The ignition lock pursuant to the invention is equipped with aseparate lever, which can be inserted for moving purposes into the rotoror another moving element of the ignition lock that is displaceablesuitably between the starting and the actuating positions. In theinserted state, a locking motion in the ignition lock interacts with thelever so that the removal of the lever from the rotor and/or from themoving element is blocked. The lever in turn is equipped with anactuating element for releasing the lock so that upon actuation of theactuating element the lever can be removed from the rotor and/or themoving element. Further embodiments of the invention are the object ofthe dependent claims.

[0010] When the moving element is designed as a rotor, an elastic forcecan act on the rotor in the actuating position. Due to this elasticforce, which can be for example a spring force, the rotor thenautomatically returns into the starting position as soon as the manualactuation of the lever stops. In an ignition lock with such a design itis preferred that, proceeding from the starting position in onedirection of rotation, the ignition for the motor of the vehicle isinitially switched into a first actuating position. In a subsequentsecond actuating position the motor is started.

[0011] Proceeding from the starting position in the other direction ofrotation, the ignition for the motor is switched off in a thirdactuating position.

[0012] It is useful when the lever is designed like an ignition key witha key bit and a grip part. The moving element can contain a holdingfeature, into which the key bit that serves for the insertion of thelever can be inserted. The key bit exhibits a contour that engages withthe locking system in a blocking manner. The grip part by contrastprotrudes from the moving element when the key bit is inserted into theholding feature for the purpose of manual movement. The emergency keycan beneficially be designed like a conventional electronic ignition keyand/or the conventional electronic ignition key can serve for theemergency actuation of the ignition lock.

[0013] The locking device can consist of a slide equipped with a spring.In particular a design as double slide with two slides that aredisplaceable in relation to each other under the force of the spring ispractical. A lug on the slide engages with the contour in the key bit ofthe lever. It is useful to provide for the contour in the key bit afirst section that runs substantially horizontally in relation to thekey bit, followed by a subsequent second section that ascends in a kindof inclined plane as well as another subsequent third section having akind of undercut design. This allows the slide to move under springtension substantially vertically to the insertion direction whenintroducing the key bit into the holding feature on the second section.The slide subsequently latches into the third section with its lug dueto the force of the tensioned spring.

[0014] The actuating element can be designed as a kind of slidingelement, wherein the sliding element contains a taper facing the lug.The sliding element is movably seated in the grip part as well as on aguiding part on the key bit. This allows the sliding element to beinserted into the third section of the contour so that the slidingelement engages in the lug of the slide through the taper in a kind ofejector. Together with the slide the lug is thus moved out of the thirdsection of the contour against the force of the spring with an unlockedunlatching device.

[0015] A push button is preferably incorporated into the grip part onthe sliding element for the actuation of the sliding element. The pushbutton can be actuated manually together with the sliding elementagainst the force of a pressure spring, which is supported, for example,on the key bit. In order to prevent an accidental actuation of the pushbutton during the usual motions of the lever, it is useful to arrangethe push button on the front side of the grip part lying opposite to thekey bit. It is useful to design the push button substantially flush withthe front side of the grip part. The surface of the part of the pushbutton that is assigned to the front side is beneficially used forattaching a symbol, wherein the symbol can be designed, for example, askind of an insert. In particular, the company logo of the vehiclemanufacturer, the ignition lock manufacturer, or the like can be affixedon the abovementioned surface.

[0016] The advantages achieved with the invention consist particularlyof the fact that the lever latches safely and captively in the ignitionlock and can yet be selectively removed from the ignition lock. Duringnormal operation of the motor vehicle thus the lever remains in theignition lock and also must not be removed when leaving the vehicle. Ifrequired, however, the lever can be detached and removed withoutadditional aids. Such a need may arise in the event of a failure of thekeyless go functionality, for example when a malfunction exists in theauthentication of the electronic key in the interior of the motorvehicle, which is required for starting up the motor vehicle. Underthese circumstances, an emergency operation is possible comfortably andeasily by inserting the electronic key

[0017] into the ignition lock instead of the lever, which deactivatesthe immobilizer and allows the vehicle to be operated. Changes on theignition lock as such are not required despite this additionalfunctionality.

[0018] The electronic key generally contains a transponder fortransmitting a code. So as not to disrupt the transponder transmission,the housing of the electronic key is usually made of polymer. Suchdesign restrictions, however, are beneficially eliminated for the lever.The lever can be made in particular of metal, which can be morebeneficial for its utilization.

[0019] The drawings show an exemplary embodiment of the invention withvarious developments and arrangements, which will be described in moredetail in the following. They show:

[0020]FIG. 1 a sectional view through an ignition lock with insertedlever;

[0021]FIG. 2 the lever in a perspective view;

[0022]FIG. 3 the lever in an exploded view;

[0023]FIG. 4 the lever with an opened grip part;

[0024]FIG. 5 the key bit of the lever in perspective view;

[0025]FIG. 6 a schematic view of the lever in the locked state;

[0026]FIG. 7 a schematic view of the lever during unlocking;

[0027]FIG. 8 a schematic view of the lever in the unlocked state and

[0028]FIG. 9 the view of the ignition lock in the insertion direction ofthe lever, wherein the lever has been removed from the ignition lock.

[0029]FIG. 1 shows an ignition lock 1 for a driving authorization and/orignition lock system in a motor vehicle that interacts with anelectronic key, an identification (ID) sensor, a chip card, a smart cardor the like, described in the following for simplicity reasons only askey or driving authorization system. The authorized user has the key,giving him driving authorization for the motor vehicle. When the userwith the key is in the interior of the motor vehicle is conducted anauthentication process in accordance with a so-called keyless gofunctionality via an encoded operating signal between the key and thedriving authorization system, upon whose successful conclusion the usercan start operating the motor vehicle.

[0030] For the operation occurring after authentication, the ignitionlock 1 contains a moving element 2, which can be moved from a startingposition into at least one actuating position. The moving element 2 canbe movable so as to slide, rotate, or be displaceable in any othersuitable manner. Particularly preferred however is a rotatably designedmoving element 2 in the form of a rotor, which is examined more closelyin the following without restriction of this feature. The ignition lock1 furthermore contains at least one switching element 3, wherein therotor 2 has a switching effect on the switching element 3 in theactuating position. Finally, the ignition lock 1 contains a lever 4,which can be inserted into the rotor 2, for manually moving the rotor 2by rotation.

[0031] For safety reasons, a locking feature 5 interacts with the lever4 in the inserted state so that the removal of the lever 4 from therotor 2 is blocked. The ignition lock 1 enables emergency operationwithout the keyless go functionality by allowing an emergency ignitionkey or also the electronic key itself to be inserted into the rotor 2instead of the lever 4. For this purpose, the lever 4 must be pulled outof the rotor 2, for which the locking feature 5 must be deactivated. Toachieve this, the lever 4 contains an actuating element 6 as shownschematically in FIG. 2 for releasing the locking feature 5 so that,upon actuation of the actuating element 6, the lever 4 can be removedfrom the rotor 2.

[0032] Various further developments and useful embodiments of theignition lock 1 in accordance with the invention are explained in moredetail in the following.

[0033] As can be seen in FIG. 9, the rotor 2 can of course have alsoseveral actuating positions, wherein each actuating position isallocated at least one switching element 3. The rotor 2 can be rotatedwith the lever 4 proceeding from the starting position 21 in onedirection of rotation, that is clockwise, initially into a firstactuating position 22. In the first actuating position 22, the ignitionfor the motor of the vehicle is switched on. In a subsequent secondactuating position 23, to which the rotor 2 can be further turned, themotor of the vehicle is started. When, proceeding from the startingposition 21, the rotor 2 is rotated in the other direction of rotationthat is counter-clockwise, into a third actuating position 24, theignition of the motor of the vehicle is switched off. In such anembodiment it is possible that in the actuating positions 22, 23, 24,respectively, an elastic force acts on the rotor 2. Due to this force,the rotor 2 then returns automatically to the starting position 21 whenthe manual application of the lever 4 stops, so that the rotor 2 is tobe operated from the respective starting position 21. The elastic forcecan be a spring force.

[0034] The lever 4 is preferably designed as a kind of ignition key witha key bit 7 and a grip part 8, as is shown in more detail in FIG. 2. Therotor 2 has a holding feature 20, visible in FIG. 9, into which the keybit 7 that serves for the insertion of the lever 4 into the rotor 2 canbe introduced. The key bit 7 exhibits a contour 9, with which thelocking feature 5 engages in a blocking manner. The grip part 8protrudes from the rotor 2 when the key bit 7 is inserted into theholding feature 20 for the purpose of manual movement, as can be seen inFIG. 1.

[0035] The locking feature 5 can consist of a slide 10 equipped with aspring 11, wherein in FIG. 1 the spring 11 is shown only schematicallyin the partially broken depicted slide 10. It is in particular a doubleslide with two slides 10, 10′, which can be moved against each otherunder the force of the spring 11. A lug 12 on the slide 10, 10′ engageswith the contour 9 in the key bit of the lever 4. It is useful when thecontour 9 in the key bit 7 has a first section 9 a that runssubstantially horizontally with respect to the key bit 7, followed by asubsequent second section 9 b that ascends in a kind of inclined plane,as well as another subsequent third section 9 c that has a kind ofundercut design, which is shown in FIG. 4 or 5. This allows the slide10, 10′ to move under tension of the spring 11 substantially verticallyto the insertion direction when introducing the key bit 7 into theholding feature 20 at the second section 9 b. The slide 10, 10′subsequently latches into the third section 9 c with its lug 12 due tothe force of the tensioned spring 11.

[0036] As is shown more closely in FIG. 3, the actuating element 6 canbe configured as a kind of sliding element 13. The sliding element 13contains a taper 14 facing the lug 12. Furthermore the sliding element13 is movably seated in the grip part 8 as well as on a guiding part 15at the key bit 7. This allows the sliding element 13 to be inserted intothe third section 9 c of the contour 9 so that the sliding element 13engages in the lug 12 of the slide 10, 10′ with its taper 14 in a kindof ejector, which can be seen in FIG. 5. Together with the slide 10,10′, the lug 12 is thus moved out of the third section 9 c of thecontour 9 against the force of the spring 11 with an unlocked unlatchingdevice. This sequence of movements is shown more closely in FIGS. 6through 8. In FIG. 6, the taper 14 of the sliding element 13 engageswith the lug 12, which is latched in the third section 9 c and is alsoin the locked state. In accordance with FIG. 7, the sliding element 13has an unlatching effect on the lug 12 and moves the lug 12 out of thethird section 9 c. In FIG. 8 then the lug 12 is moved from the thirdsection 9 c into the second section 9 b, wherein the lug 12 is unlatchedas well as unlocked so that the lever 4 can be removed from the ignitionlock 1.

[0037]FIG. 4 furthermore shows that a push button 16 is incorporated inthe grip part 8 on the sliding element 13 so that the user can actuatethe sliding element 13 manually via the push button 16. The actuationoccurs against the force of a pressure spring 17, which is supported bythe grip part 8 on the key bit 7. It may be useful to arrange the pushbutton 16 on the front side 18 of the grip part 8 opposite the key bit7, preventing the accidental actuation of the actuating element 6 by theuser during the manual actuation of the lever 4. It is useful to designthe push button 16 substantially flush with the front side 18 of thegrip part 8, as can be seen in particular in FIG. 2. On the part of thepush button 16 that is assigned to the front side 18 can be affixed asymbol 19, in particular one like the one shown in FIG. 2, such as forexample the company logo of the vehicle manufacturer or the like. It maybe useful to arrange the symbol 19 in a kind of insert on the pushbutton 16, as shown in FIG. 3. The insert as well as the key bit 7 canbe made of metal, while the push button 16 as well as the grip part 8can be made of polymer.

[0038] The invention is not limited to the embodiment described andshown herein. It rather comprises also all expert further developmentswithin the framework of the inventive idea. Therefore, the invention canbe used not only for ignition locks on any vehicle, but also on otherlocks, for example those arranged on driven machines, machine tools andthe like.

1. Ignition lock, in particular for a driving authorization system in a motor vehicle that interacts for authentication purposes with an electronic key, a chip card, an identification (ID) sensor or the like, with a switching element (3), a moving element (2) that can move from a starting position (21) into at least one actuating position (22, 23, 24), wherein the moving element (2) has a switching effect on the control element (3) in the actuating position (22, 23, 24), and a lever (4) that can be inserted into the moving element (2) for the manual movement of the moving element (2), characterized in that a locking feature (5) interacts with the lever (4) in the inserted state so that the removal of the lever (4) from the moving element (2) is blocked, and the lever (4) contains an actuating element (6) for the release of the locking feature (5), so that upon actuation of the actuating element (6), the lever (4) can be removed from the moving element (2).
 2. Ignition lock pursuant to claim 1, characterized in that the moving element (2) is designed as a kind of rotor so that the rotor (2) can be rotated from the starting position (21) into the actuating position (22, 23, 24) via the lever (4), in the actuating position (22, 23, 24) preferably an elastic force, especially a spring force, acts upon the rotor (2) so that the rotor (2) automatically returns to the starting position (21) when the manual actuation on the lever (4) stops, and furthermore, preferably proceeding from the starting position (21) in the one direction of rotation initially in a first actuating position (22), the ignition of the motor is switched on, in a subsequent second actuating position (23) the motor is started and, proceeding from the starting position (21) in the other direction of rotation in a third actuating position (24), the ignition of the motor is switched off.
 3. Ignition lock pursuant to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the lever (4) is designed in the form of an ignition key with a key bit (7) and a grip part (8), the moving element (2) preferably contains a holding feature (20) into which the key bit (7), which serves for the insertion of the lever (4), can be introduced, furthermore the key bit (7) preferably exhibits a contour (9) with which the locking feature (5) engages in a blocking manner, and additionally the grip part (8) preferably protrudes from the moving element (2) when the key bit (7) is inserted into the holding feature (20) for the manual movement.
 4. Ignition lock pursuant to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the locking feature (5) consists of a slide (10) equipped with a spring (11), preferably of a double slide with two slides (10, 10′) that can be moved against each other under the force of the spring (11), wherein a lug (12) on the slide (10) engages with the contour (9) in the key bit (7) of the lever (4), and the contour (9) in the key bit (7) preferably includes a first section (9 a) that runs substantially horizontally with respect to the key bit (7), followed by a subsequent second section (9 b) that ascends in a kind of inclined plane as well as another subsequent third section (9 c) that has a kind of undercut design, in such a way that the slide (10, 10′) can be moved under tension of the spring (11) substantially vertically to the insertion direction when the key bit (7) is introduced into the holding feature (20) at the second section (9 b) and subsequently latches into the third section (9 c) due to the force of the tensioned spring (11).
 5. Ignition lock pursuant to one of the claims 1 through 4, characterized in that the actuating element (6) is designed in the form of a sliding element (13), in particular with a taper (14) facing the lug (12), the sliding element (13) is preferably movably seated in the grip part (8) as well as on a guiding part (15) on the key bit (7), and furthermore the sliding element (13) can preferably be inserted into the third section (9 c) of the contour (9) so that the sliding element (13), in particular its taper (14) engages with the lug (12) of the slide (10, 10′) like a kind of ejector, wherein the lug (12) together with the slide (10, 10′) is moved against the force of the spring (11) out of the third section (9 c) of the contour (9) with an unlocked unlatching device.
 6. Ignition lock pursuant to one of the claims 1 through 5, characterized in that in the grip part (8) on the sliding element (13) is attached a push button (16) for actuating the sliding element (13) and that the push button (16) together with the sliding element (13) can preferably be actuated manually against the force of a pressure spring (17), which is supported particularly by the key bit (7).
 7. Ignition lock pursuant to one of the claims 1 through 6, characterized in that the push button (16) is arranged on the front side (18) of the grip part (8) opposite the key bit (7).
 8. Ignition lock pursuant to one of the claims 1 through 7, characterized in that the push button (16) is arranged substantially flush with the front side (18) of the grip part (8) and that a symbol (19), such as the company logo of vehicle manufacturer or the like, for example in the form of an insert, is preferably affixed to the part of the push button (16) that is assigned to the front side (18). 